CHICAGO -- Citizen activism helps public officials protect the environment, says Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Madigan spoke to the Illinois League of Women Voters Jan 24 State of the State meeting in Chicago where she also received the Laura Pollak Fisher award for her activism. She then talked on The State of the State’s Environment.
Madigan said that in her five year tenure as Attorney General, $850 million in fines from pollution violations have been collected to fund environmental protection. Corporate polluters also have agreed to pay for new technology to protect the state‘s air and water, she said.
Her office works with elected officials, community leaders, businesses and citizen groups to enforce the law, she said.
“Getting the public engaged is central to us being able to enforce the laws and prevent the degradation of our environment.” she said.
Balancing economic growth and environmental protection often presents dilemmas, she said, adding one solution is to encourage businesses to develop new technology to protect the environment.
Her office also works with attorney generals in other states, mostly the northeast and California, to take on national environmental issues and encourage the U.S. EPA to enforce federal rules, she said.
“We are engaged in (an effort) to make sure federal efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act do not prevail. Enforcement efforts must be combined with citizen advocacy in these struggles, she said.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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